Sticky Soil Research Articles

Modification of a mouldboard plough surface using arrays of polyethylene protuberances

Surface design modifications have recently exhibited a means of reducing soil-tool adhesion. The tribological characteristics of soil-burrowing animals were employed on tillage machinery to study the effect on adhesion. Considering the characteristics of dung beetles, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) protuberances were mounted as embossed arrays on a mouldboard plough. To investigate a suitable geometry of such protuberances, five shapes were studied (flat, semi-spherical, semi-oblate, semi short-prolate and semi long-prolate) using a combination of base diameters and protrusion heights. The dimensionless height to diameter ratio (HDR) was used to characterize the geometry. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the resultant influence of various geometrical shapes and sizes of the protuberances (base diameter: 20–50 mm; protrusion height: 0–50 mm) on lowering the ploughing resistance of the mouldboard plough in Bangkok clay soil. A comparison was made between the modified and the conventional plough in dry (21.8% (d.b.)), sticky (37.2% (d.b.)), wet (49.1% (d.b.)) and flooded (64.3% (d.b.)) Bangkok clay soil at 1, 3 and 5 km/h forward speeds. Percent reduction in ploughing resistance of bionic mouldboard plough in these soil conditions with HDR = 0 was 1–6% in dry soil, 16–22% in sticky soil, 14–20% in wet soil and 8–12% in flooded soil. With HDR = 0.25 the ploughing resistance was reduced by 2–7% in dry soil, 18–36% in sticky soil, 17–33% in wet soil and 15–28% in flooded soil. Similarly with HDR = 0.5, it reduced by 10–16% in sticky soil, 6–17% in wet soil and 12–26% in flooded soil. Whereas, HDR > 0.5 increased the ploughing resistance by 7–29%.

토양의 제자리 반전을 위한 몰드보드 플라우의 개발

On the basis of design theory of soil inversion, two types of moldboard plow with secondary soil mover was designed and constructed to invert furrow slice at same position with furrow bottom. A series of soil bin experiment was carried to investigate the performance of prototypes. First prototype of new concept plow showed two kinds of problems during the preliminary experiment. For the plowing depth of 6cut the prototype did not invert the furrow slice, instead it just cut furrow bottom and the furrow slice returned to the original position. For the plowing depth of 8cm, there was soil clogging problem at the rear part of plow. From the above results it was concluded that the first prototype can not be used for the inversion of furrow slice at same position with furrow bottom. Second prototype could invert furrow slice at the same position with furrow bottom, but the performance was affected by soil moisture content soil hardness and plowing speed very much. For the higher soil moisture content, for the higher soil hardness and higher plowing speed, the prototype showed higher soil inversion performance. For the second prototype the inversion ratio was almost 100%, inversion angle was in the range of 90 to 100 degree and side displacement was less than 4 cm. But the furrow slice was not continuous, it was cut in the length of 30 to 40 cm. The reason why the furrow slice was cut in that length is blamed for the design of moldboard surface. The specific draft of prototype was in the range of 37.24 kN/㎡ to 42.14 kN/㎡ this value is a little higher than that of the conventional plow, or from 30.38 kN/㎡ to 33.32 kN/㎡. But the difference was not so big. The inversion performance of the second prototype for the field experiment was much better than that of soil bin experiment due to the better soil and operational conditions. Sticky and compacted soil conditions, and higher plowing speed was suitable for the plowing operation of the second prototype

Technology showcase applications of enamel coating in agriculture

Recently various experiments were conducted at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, to study the effect of enamel coating on the performance of some agricultural equipment. In order to reduce soil adhesion on cage wheel lugs, nine different coating materials were tried and enamel coating was found to be the best among these materials. It reduced soil adhesion on cage wheel lugs considerably to avoid cage wheel blocking. To investigate effect of coating on lug forces detailed lab studies were undertaken to measure the lug forces. The effects of lug slip, soil moisture content and sinkage were investigated. It was observed that enamel coating did not affect the lug forces. The pull and lift forces generated by the enamel coated and uncoated lugs were almost the same. When enamel coated bolt-on plates were mounted on the power tiller cage wheel lugs and trials were conducted in actual field conditions, it was observed that in actual field conditions enamel coated bolt-on plates on cage wheel lugs improved the performance of a power tiller. Studies about coating effects on the drag force required to pull floats on soil surface were also conducted. It was observed that enamel coating on floats reduced the drag force significantly. It also greatly improved the scouring of a mouldboard plough used in a wet, sticky clay soil.

John Deere's Company: A History of Deere & Company and Its Times (review)

BOOK REVIEWS359 233 periodicals, indexes to periodical literature, and the "Recent Articles" listings injournals to compile these 1,028 items. The content ofthe articles listed range from 1540 to the 1960s widi die bulk ofdiem representing the eighteenth and nineteendi centuries. In addition, Cole annotates each item in a descriptive radier dian judgmental fashion. His remarks include reasons for the trip, a briefitinerary, dates encompassed, and die general reaction of the traveler to the region visited. Cole arranges the items according to region and then state. This useful scheme is enhanced by detailed indexes, one on travelers, places, and subjects and the otiier on authors, editors, and translators. A curious aspect ofthe book is the definition oftraveler employed. Cole includes people from other countries, missionaries, migrants to the West, and even people on vacation. His rationale is that anyone traveling across an area can offer fresh insights into the places and people observed. It would be helpful if the title could convey diis broad interpretation of travelers rather than sounding as if the book focused on foreign travelers. Another small problem is the lack ofan index ofaudiors by place oforigin so that one might pull out all the observers from a particular country with ease. This would facilitate research into, for example, die Polish point of view. Given the large number of historians and otiier scholars interested in interpretations of America and its inhabitants, diis bibliography will no doubt be widely used. Glenda Riley University of Northern Iowa John Deere's Company: A History ofDeere ir Company and Its Times. By Wayne G. Broehl, Jr. (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1984. Pp. xv, 870. $24.95.) This large, copiously illustrated volume is many tilings at once—a business history of one of America's most important agricultural machinery manufacturers , the story of John Deere and his family who ran the firm as a family enterprise until 1982, and the history of rural and small-town America from the early 1800s to the mid-twentieth century. Supported indirectly by Deere and Company tiirough a grant to Dartmouth College, where Professor Broehl is on the faculty of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, this history is based primarily on the company's voluminous and well-organized records located at its Moline headquarters . The copious endnotes are especially informative, leading die reader to a variety ofprimary and secondary sources dealingwitii the historyofthe westward movement, agricultural politics, farm implement technology, manufacturing processes, marketing, and business organization and leadership. 360CIVIL WAR HISTORY A failure in Vermont, John Deere, like many other Americans, moved west to seek his fortune. Settling in Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1837, and moving to Moline in 1848, Deere used his blacksmithing skills and natural inventiveness to develop what farmers working the rich but sticky prairie soil of Illinois needed most—a plow that would "scour" itself. Made of polished steel, Deere's plow quickly revolutionized midwestern agriculture . Almost bankrupted by die Panic of 1857, John Deere turned over management of the company to his son Charles in 1858 who ran the firm until his death in 1907. Like his business contemporaries, Charles developed modern marketing and distribution systems to meet the demands of an ever-growing market. But, unlike most odier companies, Deere's branch houses established between 1869 and 1889 in such cities as Kansas City and Minneapolis were copartnerships rather than entirely company-owned. Deere thus made an early experiment with decentralized operations combined with centralized control from Moline, more a hallmark of twentieth- rather than nineteenth-century management. It was also Charles Deere who led die company in its sometimes acrimonious confrontations with the Grangers and die Populists. Over the next several decades, Deere and Company botii broadened its product line and its markets so that by the 1980s it was a leadingAmerican corporation meeting the needs of a rapidly changing, international market for agricultural machinery. Broehl's is thus an informative history ofa significant American corporation and its multifaceted environment which will be both interesting and useful to scholars as well as the general public. Henry B. Leonard Kent State University ...

Field performance evaluation of a manual rice transplanter

Field studies were conducted at the International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, farm on a manual rice transplanter, developed at the IRRI, under the following conditions: three levels of land preparation (low, medium and high); three water depths: 0–30 mm, 30–60 mm and 60–100 mm; and three seedling ages of 14–17, 18–21 and 22–25 days. The studies were extended to two other types of soils in farmers' fields to assess the results for the combination of land preparation, water depth and seedling age found to give minimum defective hills among treatment groups at the IRRI farm. At this farm the transplanter performed well, with less than 5% defective hills when using seedlings 14–17 days old in up to 100 mm water depth at the medium level of land preparation, up to 60 mm water depth at the low level of land preparation and up to 30 mm water in overprepared (high level) land. The transplanter also worked satisfactorily using 18–21 day old seedlings at up to 60 mm water depth in medium level prepared fields and up to 30 mm water in low level tilled fields. In sticky soils, at Zaragoza, the planting depth was greater and there were more defective hills of all kinds than at the IRRI farm. In the loam soils of Florida-Blanca the planting depth was less, and only floating hills were significantly more than at the IRRI farm. The machine had an average work rate of 0·034 ha/h.

An Automatic Grass Transplanting Machine

ABSTRACT THE presently used seeding technology for estab-lishing grasses produces many seeding failures, however, living plants, transplanted into the field by hand have a good probability for success. A plastic bandoleer permits complete mechanization of grass transplanting. This paper reports improvements to an experimental transplanting machine that uses the bandoleer. A new mechanical feeding system successfully moved the bandoleer belt through the machine and separated individual plant growing cells. A modified dibble (soil opener) reduced problems with sticky soils and dibble loading. A modified rooting medium increased the rigidity of the bandoleer belt, thus improving belt feeding. The transplanter correctly placed seedlings in 97% of the theoretical plant positions in one large field test.....

Performance of a prototype fluid drill

Fluid drilling is a novel sowing technique whereby seeds (either untreated or pregerminated) are dispersed in a fluid medium and subsequently extruded into the soil. A theoretical analysis revealed that a commercial tractor-mounted fluid drill is best suited to small seeds and a luminar flow regime. A prototype fluid drill was developed with rotary self-cleaning coulters suitable for operating under sticky soil conditions. Tests on this drill revealed that spacing distributions for cabbage seeds (laboratory) and seedlings (field) were substantially inferior to those obtained using a conventional precision drill. Nevertheless the fluid drilled crop compared favourably with the conventionally grown crop as indicated by visual observations of plant growth and vigour. In addition, emergence of the fluid drilled crop occurred approximately 30% sooner. It was concluded that the commercial acceptability of this drill would be greatly enhanced by the development of a suitable precision fluid drilling mechanism.

Experiences with Lubricated Plows

ABSTRACT A potpourri of field tests with modified moldboard plows were run with and without lubrication. A 2 to 3 percent polymer98 to 97 percent water (by volume)lubricant at rates of less than 95 L/ha (10 gal/A) proved effective in improving plow per-formance. Draft reductions were as high as 40 per-cent, and plow scouring and furrow slice inversion were improved in sticky soils. A four-bottom, two-way plow was equipped for lubrication. This plow was used successfully in normal farming operations. Based on these tests and experiences, in our judgment, the polymer lubrication of plows, and perhaps other tillage tools, is a reality for farm use.

Water withdrawal by plant roots

As part of a study dealing with the influence of some environmental conditions on plant growth, water withdrawal patterns of Red Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L., c.v. Rode Herfst) grown on a sticky clay soil are analyzed. An analysis of the transport resistance for liquid flow in the plant as well as an investigation on the geometry factor of the root system for red cabbage is presented. The variation of these factors with depth is described, and root extraction rates at different depths are calculated and compared with data obtained from water balance studies. The plant resistance data are in reasonable agreement with existing literature. Because of a non-homogeneous and poor root development in the early stages of growth, the geometry data of the initial growing stages differ a factor ten from data found in literature. With root development increasing with depth, geometry data decrease to values also reported for other crops. From calculations it is shown that at increasing drying out of the soil the geometry factor is slightly affected, but the plant resistance increases considerably. The latter resistance, however, decreases when the evaporation flux from the plant increases. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the root distribution in the soil with depth, resulting in a relatively higher water uptake from the top layers, as compared with the deeper layers, when the evaporation flux increases. The obtained results may at least partly explain the apparent non-Darcian behaviour of the flux of water through the plants, sometimes reported in literature.

On the W ater Loss due to the Fissures of Sticky Soils in Swampy Rice Field

On the W ater Loss due to the Fissures of Sticky Soils in Swampy Rice Field